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In the second leg of the weekend parades, the winds changed from an almost summer feel the day before to an almost winter feel. But that did not stop thousands of revelers to come out and cheer on the ancient festival of Nowruz at he 14th annual Persian Day Parade. The festival has passed down the term “spring cleaning” to the mainstream. It’s a celebration of the revival of nature and things coming back to life after a season of winter. Since the festival is over 3000 years, the Persian region and not one particular country come out to celebrate the event. Originally attributed to the Zoroastrian religion that dates back before Islam or Christianity, Nowruz has some familiar characters of tradition. Amu Nowruz is a friendly character that gives out money to children and has a similar appearance to Santa Claus while Haji Firuz bangs the tambourine to get the festival and dancing started. Pre-parade festivities were getting wrapped up as the crowd was getting anxious to see some of their favorite marchers. As usual, the mounted police let everyone on Madison Ave. and 38th St. know the parade was about to get started. The NYPD Marching Band followed right behind to get the parade started.

Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds

Bahar Dance Ensemble

Let The Party Begin

This parade is known for its colorful floats and fine traditional dancers. One of the first floats was the Isfahan float with dancers moving to a traditional piano movement. Not an easy thing o do but they pulled it off quite nicely. A returning group that was well received was the Bahar Dance Ensemble. They always put on a great show. The Baba Tahar float had some elegant dancers with alot of energy to please the crowd. In their second year, the Persian Parade DC Chapter was having fun especially when the Amu Nowruz character started dancing with them. The colorful floats also pay tribute to iconic figures like Cyrus, Ferdowsi, and Rumi. This is always a fun parade that draws more people every year. The parade route leads everyone to Madison Square Park where the festivities continue. And if you get hungry there are kiosks with food vendors set up nearby. The Taste of Persia restaurant sets up shop there with their tasty vegetarian soup Ash Reshteh…a must have especially on a chilly afternoon.